Trust Me
by fanwriter1245
Summary: While walking Flipper one night, Elliot accidentally meets a young woman who will change his life forever. Secrets come to light that will threaten everything, and both of their worlds are never going to be the same. Especially when Elliot finds out who the woman is related to. Takes place after Episode 9 of Season 1 and goes on it's own from there. ElliotxOC
1. Chapter 1

_Hello, friend._

 _It's been a while. Things have been kind of…well, crazy._

 _Am I crazy? I have to be, right? What kind of sane person sees their dead father walking around?_

 _I guess all those sessions with Krista were really for nothing. We didn't make any progress, and she knows it._

 _This is so messed up. Really messed up._

 _But at least I have you._

 _He doesn't talk to you._

Elliot walked down the sidewalk, his hoodie pulled up over his head as usual. Flipper was walking ahead of him happily, eager to get all her pent-up energy out. Thoughts raced through Elliot's mind at a thousand miles an hour. After learning the truth about Mr. Robot, he didn't know what he was supposed to do now.

"Kellan, calm down," a woman's voice said.

Elliot looked ahead of him to find a man yanking a woman out of the passenger seat of the car.

"Geez, I'm coming!" the woman yelled to him.

"Well, hurry up!" the man shot back. He roughly pushed her in the direction of the stairs to the apartment complex.

"Hey!" Elliot called.

The two people turned to look at him. The woman's eyes looked rather…surprised.

There was tense silence between the three people on the sidewalk. The two strangers seemed to be waiting for Elliot to continue, but he couldn't articulate anymore words.

"Kellan," the woman finally said. "Go on up. I'll be there in a minute."

"Don't take forever."

As Kellan went up the stairs, the woman turned to face Elliot. "Thank you."

"Is that your boyfriend?" Elliot asked.

The woman smiled a little. "Uh, no. No, he's my brother." Elliot nodded a little. "Look, he's really not a bad guy. He's just…in a rough spot right now. He's been really out of sorts ever since our dad died a few months ago. He's been seeing a therapist. But I don't know how much that's actually helping. Um, he's always been a little hotheaded. Our mom died in childbirth with him. He was never the same after he found that out." The woman furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, I don't even know you. You probably don't want to hear all this."

 _I would've found out eventually anyway._

"Well, anyway, thank you for your help. See ya."

Elliot started to walk away as the woman turned to go up the stairs.

"I'm Mara, by the way," she called after him.

Elliot turned around. "Elliot."

Mara smiled before disappearing into the complex.

* * *

"Elliot?"

Elliot looked up from his view of the pavement in front of him to see Mara. He hadn't even realized he was by the same apartment complex from a few nights ago.

"What are you doing here?" Mara smiled.

"Just giving Flipper a walk," he answered.

Mara knelt down next to the small dog. "Is Flipper a boy or a girl?"

"A girl."

She began to pet Flipper. "She's so cute!"

Elliot smiled a little. Mara was kind of cute when she was excited about something.

"Would you like to come inside for a moment?" Mara asked. When she saw Elliot's hesitant look, she quickly added, "Uh, Kellan's not here. He's at work right now. Flipper can come too."

"Sure."

Elliot followed her inside her apartment, hoping to find out a little bit more about her. Things he couldn't find just by hacking her which he had done the night he met her. Once inside, he took off his hoodie, running his fingers through his hair as he did so.

Her apartment was larger than he expected, and it was incredibly pristine. She seemed to be a bit of a neat freak. When he walked in, there was a living room to his right and a kitchenette to his left. Straight ahead was a small hallway that led to three rooms and a bathroom. He concluded that two of the rooms were for her and Kellan and an additional room as extra space.

"Can I make you some coffee?"

"No," Elliot answered quietly. "I don't really drink coffee."

Mara smiled a little. "It's okay, I don't either. I'm that loser who gets a hot chocolate in the middle of July. Well, can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm okay."

"Are you sure? I can make pretty much anything. I'm a whiz in the kitchen."

"I'm not hungry."

"If you say so. I'll just get you a glass of water then." Mara grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it up with water before handing it to Elliot.

"Thank you."

Mara went to the living room and sat on one of the sofas. "Flipper!" She patted the seat next to her, and Flipper eagerly hopped up on the chair. Mara smiled as she began petting the dog again. "So, Elliot, what do you do for a living?"

"I work at AllSafe."

"Doing what?"

"I'm a computer engineer"

"Oh, really? You're good with computers?"

"You could say that."

"Maybe someday, you can help me work mine. I'm a complete idiot when it comes to technology. I haven't really had much time to learn when I'm working at the hospital all the time."

 _She works at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan and has been a nurse for ten years. She takes shifts all the time, even when it's too much for her to handle. It makes her feel like she's making a difference._

"Which hospital?" Elliot asked, playing dumb.

"Bellevue. I'm a nurse there. It's a hard job, but I love it more than anything. I've wanted to be a nurse ever since I was little. Did you know that you always wanted to work with computers?"

Elliot thought back to the first time he had ever hacked. It had been a library website when he was 11.

"Yes."

* * *

Stopping by Mara's apartment eventually became a regular thing for Elliot. He didn't even really realize it until the fourth time he visited her apartment. Then he came to see that unlike before when he and Flipper just walked wherever, he now had a set path to Mara's place. Each time, she welcomed him with open arms.

Mara quickly learned that he wasn't a talker, and he didn't like to be touched. She respected that, and to his relief, she never pried when he didn't answer her questions as much as she would've liked.

There was a knock on Mara's door, and she went to answer it, expecting it to be Elliot. Instead, a woman stood there with messy hair and a lot of makeup on.

"Can I help you?" Mara asked with a polite smile.

"I heard you're friends with Elliot."

"Um, do I know you?"

"I'm Darlene. His sister."

"Oh! Well, come in." Darlene slowly stepped through the doorframe. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I won't be here long." Mara turned to find that Darlene hadn't moved an inch from the door. "I'm here to tell you to stay away from him."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, Elliot is very quiet and reserved which I'm sure you've noticed by now. He had a girlfriend a few months ago who was the first person he truly opened up to in a really long time. She ended up getting killed, and it destroyed him. If he loses another person, I don't think he could take it."

"Well, I don't really plan on dying any time soon."

Darlene sighed. "Elliot isn't who you think he is. Something happened to him that I still don't fully understand. But long story short, he's been seeing our dead father for the past several months."

"What…what are you talking about?"

"I hate saying it this way, but it's sort of like a Norman Bates thing. Sometimes, he loses himself and the part of his mind that pretends to be our dad takes over. When he comes out of it, he can't remember anything that happened. He didn't even remember that I was his sister for a while. I can see that you care for him because of the way you're reacting to this news right now, but I'm telling you for both of your sakes that the best thing for him is to just stay away from him."

Darlene left Mara's apartment as the girl stood there, still in disbelief at what she had just been told.

* * *

Mara had every intention of telling Elliot that for his own safety, he needed to stay away from her. But when he came knocking on her door again, she was reminded of how fragile of a person he really was. It was almost like the tiniest little thing would shatter the inner parts of his mind. She couldn't just keep him from seeing her as she didn't know what his reaction would be.

She began constantly wondering if Elliot saw his dead father in her apartment. Surely she would've realized by now if he was seeing something that wasn't there. Did that mean Darlene was wrong?

 _There's something wrong with Mara. She used to always be happy to see me. Now whenever I stop by, she looks at me like at any second, she expects me to beat and rob her._

 _Did she hack me? Was the whole not knowing anything about computers just a cover?_

 _No, that can't be. I hacked her first and I saw that she barely had any time to do anything. Besides, someone like her could never find something on me._

 _Even still, I don't like the way she's looking at me. I know what I have to do._

 _He told me._

Mara opened up the door to her apartment and smiled when she saw Elliot with Flipper.

"Hi!" she said brightly. "Come in. Would you like anything to eat? I keep offering thinking that maybe one day you'll change your mind."

Elliot didn't answer as he stepped inside. But only a little bit.

"Why do you do it?" Elliot asked.

"Why do I do what?"

"Look after your brother when he clearly doesn't care about you."

"Excuse me?" The first time she got more than ten words out of him at a time, and this was what he said? "For your information, Kellan does care about me. I know he doesn't exactly show it, but deep down, he cares. We care about each other. Because that's what a family does."

"How do you know though? What if he's only pretending so he gets to push you around and make your life a living hell?"

"Elliot, where is this coming from?"

"If you were to suddenly lose your job, would anyone really care at the hospital? Your coworkers may miss you for a couple days, but life will soon go on. None of the patients you worked so hard to save will ever remember your name."

"Maybe not, but those people are alive because of what I did to help. And even though they may not remember me, I know that I made a difference."

 _She's lying. I can see her eyes beginning to water. She's grasping at straws, trying desperately to prove me wrong, but I can see that I'm hitting several nerves._

 _That's good, right? It's what I wanted._

 _Then why does something inside me feel…guilty?_

"Look, I…I think you should go," Mara said with a shaky voice. "Now."

Flipper barked a little as Elliot left Mara's apartment. Mara quickly shut the door behind him before wiping away a tear from her cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

"Elliot?"

Mara knocked on the small apartment door, really wishing that the man lived in a better neighborhood. She felt that at any second, she was going to get dragged into an alley and murdered.

After knocking on the door again, she tried the knob and after a little finagling with the lock, she managed to unlock it. She slowly opened the door to Elliot's apartment.

"Elliot?" she called cautiously.

The sound of quiet whimpers sounded out in the very, very small apartment. She looked over and found Elliot huddled in the corner, tears dripping from very red eyes.

She gasped a little at his appearance and rushed over to him. He noticeably tensed up when she got close to him.

"Hey," she said tenderly. "It's okay. I'm not touching you. I'm keeping my distance, see?"

"What…what are you doing here?" he choked out. "After what I said to you?"

Mara sighed. "I realized that you were just doing what my brother does a lot. He pushes me away when all he really wants is to have me near."

Elliot didn't answer her. He held his head in his hands, his body shaking a little with sobs.

"Elliot, I know that you're upset because you feel like you're alone. You feel frustrated with life, like there's no one there for you. But you're wrong. I'm right here. I'm right here in front of you. I'm real. You can touch me."

She slowly held her hand out for him to take. A large part of her didn't expect him to take it, but she wouldn't force him. She wanted him to take her hand only if he felt comfortable.

What she didn't expect to happen at all was for Elliot to rush forward into her arms. She gasped quietly at the sudden change in him. They had never touched once in their entire…well, whatever their relationship was called. Going from nothing to a tearful hug was certainly not something she could've planned.

Her arms gently wrapped around him and she ran her fingers through his hair.

"It's all right. I'm right here, okay? I'm right here."

Elliot's body shook in her embrace, but she continued to hold him to let him know that he was not alone.

* * *

Elliot soon went back to constantly visiting Mara. He was surprised she was so quick to welcome him back after all the things he had said to her.

He still couldn't understand what had happened when she came to his apartment. Whenever he thought back on it, he couldn't comprehend what had possessed him to hug her like that. It wasn't like him at all.

There was something about the way she held her hand out to him and the look in her eyes. Unlike before, she didn't seem afraid of him. She seemed genuinely concerned for him and desperate to make him feel better. That was just who she was. She had an innate tendency to want to make people feel better. It was why she became a nurse.

Before he could stop himself, he rushed into her arms as he cried. Every part of him screamed to pull away from her. But when she wrapped her arms around him, for the first time in years, he felt safe.

One night, a raging thunderstorm tore through New York as Elliot sat at his computer doing some hacking as usual. He was so engrossed in the nonsense numbers and letters, he almost didn't hear the firm knock on his door. He closed everything and erased all evidence of what he had been doing and then went to go answer it.

There stood Mara, soaking wet, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes red.

"Can I come in?" she asked quietly.

Elliot nodded a little and allowed her to step inside.

"What's the matter?" he asked cautiously.

Mara turned to him with tears in her eyes. "It's, um…it's Kellan. He got into this huge bar fight tonight. And now he's at the hospital in critical condition. And…they don't know if he's going to make it or not."

 _I bet he started it._

"I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. He didn't start that bar fight. He told me when I saw him. And despite what you may think, Kellan doesn't lie to me. He may push me around and be really demanding, but he doesn't lie to me."

Mara turned away from him and leaned against the counter in the kitchen area.

"You should get out of those wet clothes," Elliot said.

Mara faced him, anger written on her face. "Excuse me?"

"I just mean you should change into something dry. You might get sick."

"Oh. Well, I don't have any dry clothes with me."

"Go take a shower and warm up."

Unwilling to deny herself a hot shower, Mara went into the bathroom. Elliot could hear the water turn on inside.

He was a bit stunned. He had never really seen Mara like this before. There was the one time he had forced himself to hurt her, but that was different.

From the looks of it, she had been crying for a long time. She had clearly walked to his apartment which he couldn't understand why she would want to walk when it was pouring outside.

He made some hot tea, forgetting until now that he even had tea bags in the cabinets. Why had he even bought that? He didn't drink tea.

Whatever the reason, he was glad for it now. Mara was going to need it.

The water in the bathroom turned off. A few seconds later, Mara emerged wearing only a blue towel wrapped around her small body.

Avoiding eye contact with her, he quickly went over to his drawers and pulled out a black t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants he was pretty sure he had never worn once in his life. He handed the clothes to her, trying really hard not to stare.

Mara smiled a little as she took the clothes and headed back into the bathroom. While she changed, Elliot finished making the tea. He put a lot of honey in it and left the tea bag inside the mug, unsure of how strong she would want it.

Mara came back out wearing Elliot's clothes, her wet hair leaving small droplets on the floor behind her. The shirt was too big on her, hanging down to the middle of her thighs, and the pants had been tied tightly around her waist.

It was strange to see her like this. She was always so put together. He had never seen her so broken before.

Elliot came over to her with the mug in his hand. "It's just some regular tea. I put honey in it."

"Thank you," Mara said gratefully, taking the mug from him.

"You can sit on the couch."

Mara took a seat as she began sipping her tea. It left something to be desired, but it wasn't horrible.

The two of them sat in awkward silence on the couch for several minutes. Mara set the mug down on the table in front of her.

"I'm scared," she finally said quietly, barely breaking the silence. "Kellan's all I've got left. If he dies…I don't know what I'm going to do. He's my little brother. I'm supposed to be looking out for him. And I failed. I feel like it's my fault he's dying."

Mara held her head in her hands as she began to cry again. Elliot stared at her from his seat. Truth be told, he didn't really know what to do. He wasn't exactly the kind of person who comforted other people. He avoided talking and touching others at all costs.

But how could he do that now after Mara had comforted him a few weeks ago in ways he still questioned?

His heart hammering fiercely in his chest, Elliot slowly slid over to her and put his arm around her albeit rather awkwardly. But that was all it took. Mara leaned against him as she continued to cry. Her cold hair sent a shiver through his body as it touched his bare skin.

Elliot couldn't say anything to her to make her feel better. He didn't have that power like she did. But for Mara, it was enough for him to just be close to her and have someone to cry on.

Once Mara's crying had ceased, Elliot realized that she had fallen asleep in his awkward embrace. He gently laid her down on the couch. Then he took a blanket and draped it over her. Finally, she looked peaceful.

* * *

"How's work?" Mara asked as she prepared some hot chocolate for the both of them.

Several days had passed since Mara's breakdown in Elliot's apartment. Kellan had since been expected to make a full recovery, but it was going to be a long and difficult process. He had been severely injured to the point where it was going to take at least two months of physical therapy to get himself back to normal.

But even though the expenses of all the medical care were hanging over Mara's head, Elliot could see that she was happy. Having her brother alive was enough for her, and she didn't care how much it cost to make sure he came home.

Elliot was surprised at how comfortable he had become around Mara. He didn't even feel this way around Angela which was saying something considering how long they had known each other.

There was a certain kind of aura that Mara gave off when she was near him. Something that he didn't get from the others.

Not to mention it was nice to hang around someone who wasn't constantly doing something illegal.

Maybe that was what it was. Everyone else he hung out with always had the fear on their shoulders that they were going to get caught hacking. Mara didn't have that. She had fears, of course. After all, what human didn't? But she didn't let them weigh her down or affect her mood unless things were really bad and even then she would still try to act happy.

"It's okay, I guess," he finally answered. "I like working on a computer all day."

"I don't know how you do it. I would go nuts from sitting at a computer for eight hours or more. At least during my shifts, I'm always busy."

"There's this guy who keeps coming in. Tyrell. He keeps trying to convince me to come work for him. I keep telling him I'm happy where I am, but he seems determined for me to work at Evil Corp."

Mara turned to look at him. "Wait. Are—are you talking about Tyrell Wellick?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

Mara let out a light laugh. "Yeah, he, um, he's my cousin."

 _Holy crap._

 _Mara is Tyrell's cousin?_

 _This is bad. How did I not know this? I know everything about everyone. I already hacked her. Why didn't I find this out?_

 _That first night we met…_

 _She shared so much personal information with me when she didn't even know my name. That has to be it. She told me so much that I must not have hacked her well enough._

 _I need to get out of here._

"Elliot?" Mara said, noticing he looked a little panicked. "Are you all right?"

"Fine. Uh, I gotta go. I'm meeting Angela. Bye."

Elliot took off towards the door before Mara could even get a word out.

She faced the now closed door in shock. "Uh, okay," she said to an empty apartment. She looked down at the counter and saw two mugs of hot chocolate, one for an owner who had disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

_Elliot, are you okay?_

 _Please answer me._

 _Did I do something to upset you? If I did, I didn't mean to._

 _Elliot, seriously, I really need to know if you're okay. Do you need me to come over again? Because I will._

 _Elliot, are you okay?_

Text message after text message came across Elliot's phone, but he ignored them all. He couldn't believe he hadn't known Tyrell was Mara's cousin. That must've been her plan all along. She was just trying to get close to him so she could tell Tyrell everything about him.

He had to wipe all of his drives. For all he knew, she could've hacked him already.

Elliot took all of the information on his computer and forced it out of the machine. Then he either drilled a hole through them or tossed them in the microwave to burn.

Mara wouldn't get to him. Which meant Tyrell wouldn't either.

* * *

"Elliot!"

Elliot's head snapped over to the door at the sound of Mara's voice amidst the loud banging.

"Elliot, I know you're in there. Open the door."

Elliot couldn't make himself move. Didn't she understand that he didn't want to talk to her?

"I'm going to get in there one way or another. I can pick a lock, you know."

With a sigh, he finally got up and answered the door. Mara stormed into his apartment as soon as it was open.

"Okay, you haven't answered my texts or calls for three days. You want to tell me what's going on?"

Elliot didn't answer her. As he observed her, he noticed her cheeks were a light shade of angry pink. He had never seen her this mad before.

"Did I do something to make you angry? Because I'd really like to know what it was." When he still didn't answer, her features softened only a little and the angry pink became barely noticeable. "Is this about the whole Tyrell bomb I dropped on you?" By the look on Elliot's face, she had guessed correctly. "Look…you have to understand, I am nothing like my cousin. He hasn't even spoken to me in years."

"But he only lives thirty minutes away from you," Elliot finally said.

"Yeah. What does that tell you? Ever since that Danish girl came into his life, he changed. A lot. So…whatever your concerns are with him…you don't have to have them with me."

Elliot began coughing heavily. Mara's eyes furrowed in confusion. She quickly studied him for a second and looked around his apartment. A mirror on the table, a small ceramic bowl next to it, coughing, sweatiness, paleness, red eyes. All the signs were there.

"You've been taking morphine again, haven't you?" Mara demanded. "Elliot, you told me you'd stopped taking that stuff."

Elliot looked at her guiltily. "I…I was having a bad day, and—"

"Oh, cut the crap! We all have bad days, believe me, I know, but that doesn't mean we immediately have to go to drugs to make it better! What if everyone went to drugs every time they had a bad day? What if I did drugs when I had a bad day? How would that affect my work at the hospital?" Mara took a deep breath and calmed down a little. "Elliot, I want to be your drug. I want you to come to me when you're angry and upset and hurting. I want to be there for you, but you have to let me. I want you to let me in."

Elliot began coughing again and he looked even paler.

Mara sighed. "How long have you been taking it?"

"A few weeks."

"When's the last time you took some?"

"Yesterday."

"Okay. Come on."

She quickly ushered him to the bathroom and Elliot began vomiting into the toilet. She stood over him, waiting for him to finish the first session. He had a long week ahead of him.

* * *

Mara watched as Elliot thrashed around in his bed, the sheets soaked in the sweat that was pouring from his skin. She gently rubbed a wet cloth over his head and chest. He barely stayed still long enough for it to have any effect.

She had seen this several times during her time at the hospital. But seeing it happen to someone she cared about was something else entirely. It hurt her to see Elliot in so much pain. Why had he started taking morphine again? What was so bad that he would do this to himself?

Elliot lurched again which only meant one thing. Mara quickly grabbed the trashcan and held it up as he began puking once more. When he finished his latest session, she took out the trash bag and took it out to the dumpster with the others. The smell of vomit was getting to be rather strong in the dumpster by now. She was thankful that she had built up an immunity to vomit over her years of being a nurse.

Once back in his apartment, Mara ran to the kitchen and got a glass of water. "Here," she said as she held it out for Elliot.

"No…" he answered breathlessly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. This is the last thing you want. But you're getting dehydrated and if I don't get something in you, I'm going to have to take you to the hospital which I know you really don't want me to do, so drink the freaking water."

Not daring to refuse her when she used such a deadly tone, Elliot took the water in his shaking hands. He sipped it slowly and for a moment, he feared it was just going to come back up. But to his surprise, he managed to keep the water in his system.

He was beginning to see things. Things that weren't there. Or maybe they were there. How could he know?

He was hot. He was cold. He was hot. He was cold.

The sheets beneath him were wet. But he couldn't get up and move away from the uncomfortable bed he was lying in.

"Elliot, can you get on the couch for me?"

Mara's voice echoed in his head. It seemed to be a million miles away from him. She wanted him to move. Why couldn't he move?

"I'm going to help you, okay?"

He could feel something touching his back. Was he moving? What was happening?

Mara changed the sweat-drenched sheets on Elliot's bed as he lay down on the couch a few feet away. She made quick work of the chore so Elliot could get back in bed. Once the new sheets were on, she helped Elliot back in where he quickly pulled the blanket around him and began to shake again. She sighed heavily as she took the laundry basket and went up to the next floor where the washing machine was.

She quickly tossed everything inside and started the machine before running back to the apartment. Elliot was leaning over the trashcan, vomiting yet again. At least he hadn't thrown up on himself this time. That had been a real treat.

"Let it out," she said softly. "Just let it out."

As soon as he was finished, she repeated the process before going back to rubbing the wet cloth on his body.

* * *

Elliot bolted up after having another feverish nightmare. For the first time in a while, he was actually aware of his surroundings. He was in his apartment. There was a little bit of sunlight streaming through the windows. It must've been some time in the morning.

"Mara?" he called out in a choked voice. "Mara?"

There was no answer. He didn't see her.

She had left him. He was alone.

"She's gone…She's gone…"

Elliot quietly whimpered at the thought of being alone again. He didn't want to be alone. Not with him.

Mara's eyes opened at the sound of crying. She slowly sat up from the couch where she had been sleeping, exhausted from taking care of Elliot. She turned around and found Elliot sitting up on the bed, tears coming from his eyes at a fast rate.

"Hey!" she said quickly as she ran over to sit across from him, lightly touching his hands. "Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay. I'm here. I'm here. I'm right here."

"Mara…?"

"I'm here."

"You didn't leave?"

"Of course not. I wasn't about to leave you by yourself in this state."

Elliot looked at the girl in front of him. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, strands sticking out all over the place. She had slight shadows beneath her eyes. Overall, she looked rather haggard. "How…how long has it been?"

"Five days. How are you feeling? You look much better."

"You've been here the whole time?"

"Yes. I've had people taking my shifts at the hospital. I told them it was a family emergency. It was an emergency all right. If I wasn't here, you would've gotten massively dehydrated and starved yourself."

"You…you stayed for five whole days?"

"Yes, I did."

"Why?"

"Because it's my job. I take care of people who are sick. And whether you believe it or not, Elliot, I do care about you."


	4. Chapter 4

Mara quickly went to her apartment door as a knock sounded out. It was too early for Elliot to be here. He usually didn't stop by until later.

The last person she expected to be standing there was an all-too-familiar smug smiling face.

"Hello, Mara."

Mara's jaw clenched in anger. "What are you doing here?"

"That's not the kind of greeting I was expecting from my favorite cousin."

"Yeah. You haven't spoken to your 'favorite cousin' in over six years."

"Well, things change. I thought it was time to reconnect."

Tyrell stepped past her and walked inside. Mara stared at him bitterly. "Come on in," she said sarcastically.

Her stupid cousin looked around at her apartment, and she could feel judgment radiating off him.

"What do you want, Tyrell?"

"Why the harsh attitude? Is that any way to treat family?"

"You quit being family when you married Joanna."

"What do you have against Joanna?"

"How about the fact that she turned you into a completely different person? You've changed since you met her, and not for the better. Now tell me why you're in my apartment after almost seven years."

"I heard you've been getting rather close with Elliot Alderson."

"Oh, so you're spying on me now. I thought that was beneath you. Of course, there really isn't a lot that is beneath you."

"I want to know him, Mara. I want to know what he's hiding. Surely you feel like he's keeping something huge from you."

If Darlene was telling the truth, it was huge all right. But there was no way she was going to tell her cousin that. She still wasn't sure it was accurate. Never once had it seemed like Elliot was seeing someone who wasn't there, and she had spent a lot of time with him in the past few months.

And even if it was true, she would never tell Tyrell anything about Elliot.

"I want to know what that is. He seems to talk to you about these things. Find out more about him. Find out his dark side. I want to know everything about Elliot."

Mara shook her head. "You're an idiot. For your information, I'm just now breaking through Elliot's shell. It takes time to get close to him, and I've barely even scratched the surface. He trusts me, and I'm not going to take that for granted. Especially not for you. You know he didn't even talk to me for three days after he found out we're related? So once again, you have ruined my life without even being in it. Thanks a lot."

"Come on, Mara, we're family. Families help each other out."

"And like I said, you're not family anymore. Now get out of my apartment. And don't ever come back here. I don't want to see your stupid face ever again."

"Now what would my dear uncle say about that?"

"Oh, I think he'd happily agree with me. But I guess we'll never know, will we? Now get out. Before Kellan gets home. Trust me. He hates you more than I do, and you certainly don't want to be on his bad side now. Bye, 'favorite cousin'."

Mara shoved Tyrell out of her apartment and slammed the door after him. Why, of all people, did she have to be related to Tyrell Wellick?

She decided to head over to Elliot's apartment herself and see a face she actually wanted to see.

"Elliot?" she called as she knocked on the door. "Are you home?"

There was no answer. When she turned the knob, it was unlocked. Why would someone as paranoid as Elliot leave his door unlocked? She slowly stepped inside, a bit wary after Tyrell's visit.

"Elliot?"

No answer.

She was about to leave when something caught her eye. It was a piece of paper sitting on the counter. She went over and picked it up.

Her eyes widened in horror.

 _I can't do this._

 _I don't even know who I am anymore. He won't shut up. I can't control him anymore. I don't think I ever could._

 _There's only one way I know how to end this for good._

 _Good-bye, friend._

Mara took off out of the apartment at lightning speed. Not wasting time for idiot cab drivers who never stopped, she stepped out in front of one.

"Take me to the Brooklyn Bridge! Now!"

The cab driver floored the gas and drove her over to the bridge. She just prayed she wasn't too late.

"Hey, is that a dude?" the cab driver asked as they approached the bridge.

Mara's eyes snapped over and she saw Elliot perched on top of the railing. How did he even get up there?

"Stop the car!"

The cab obediently screeched to a halt and Mara flew out of the vehicle.

"Elliot!" she cried as she bolted over to him. "Please don't do this!"

"I have to," he answered simply.

"Elliot, I have worked so hard to be close to you, and I know that you have too. Please don't let it all be for nothing."

Elliot didn't answer her as he stared at the glassy water beneath him. Mara wasn't supposed to be here. He didn't want her to see this.

"I care for you…in a way that I didn't know I could care for someone." He could hear her crying now. "Elliot, please look at me. I don't want you to do this. I'm right here for you. Whatever you're going through, we will get through it together. I promise. I'm real, remember? You can touch me."

She held her hand out for him. Elliot slowly turned around. He felt guilty when he saw the tears running down her cheeks. He hadn't meant to scare her so much. Then again, what else had he been expecting?

His mind flashed back to the time she had comforted him while he cried alone in his apartment. She had held out her hand and said those exact same words: 'I'm real. You can touch me.'

Elliot slowly stepped down from the railing and hesitantly took her hand. Mara rushed into his arms and cried against his black sweatshirt. He was surprised at first, but then he slowly allowed himself to wrap his arms around her.

Wasn't it supposed to be him crying in this kind of situation? Why wasn't he feeling sad?

It was then that he realized that whenever Mara was around…Elliot never saw him.

* * *

Mara spent twice as much time with Elliot after his little stunt on the bridge. She had to be sure he wasn't going to go off and try again once she left.

"Hey, Elliot," Mara said as she fixed some dinner for them in her apartment. "How about the two of us go out next week?"

"Go out where?"

"On a date."

"A date?"

"Yes, a date."

"You're asking me out on a date?"

Mara laughed. "Yes, do I need to spell it out? I want to go out on a date with you. There's this restaurant that just opened up a couple miles from here that I've been dying to try. What do you say?"

"I don't really like public places."

"Oh, come on, it's just one night. And we can get all dressed up and go out to eat and just mix things up for once."

"I don't know, Mara…"

"Besides, you still owe me. You cost me several shifts at the hospital when I was taking care of you. The least you can do is take me out once."

Elliot sighed. She had a point. He really did need to do something for her after she had spent five straight days helping him through the withdrawal.

"Fine. When are we doing this?"

Mara smiled broadly. "I'm off next Thursday night. I'll make us some reservations."

As the young woman ran around to get things ready for their date, Elliot couldn't help but smile a little. Mara was still cute when she was excited.

* * *

Elliot took several deep breaths before entering the restaurant.

"Hello," the hostess said with a bright smile. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh…Alderson," he said stoically.

The hostess looked down at her sheet before smiling back up at him. "Please just follow me."

Elliot followed the hostess throughout the restaurant until she stopped at a small table for two towards the back.

"Enjoy your meal, sir!"

Elliot fidgeted at the table awkwardly, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He hadn't been out to eat in years, much less been out on a date.

Mara had said that she would meet him inside after her shift was over at the hospital, so he sat at the table anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Ten minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. Drink orders were taken. Water for the both of them. Thirty minutes passed. One hour passed.

Elliot sighed. It was clear Mara wasn't coming. He checked his phone but found no messages or calls from her. She would've called if she was stuck at the hospital. She must've gotten cold feet.

His first real date and he had been stood up by the person who had set it up.


	5. Chapter 5

Two days had gone by, and Elliot hadn't heard a single word from Mara. Ever since the night of their date, he figured that she had just given up on him. After all, why would someone like her, someone sweet and kind and beautiful, ever want to go out with someone like him?

Deep down though, he knew that he missed her. He wanted to see her again. There was something about her that made him feel like he never had before. He cared about her in a way that didn't fully make sense to him. He hadn't even felt this way about Shayla.

But he couldn't help it if she didn't want to see him.

Elliot was walking down the sidewalk in an unusually lone place of New York. He wasn't sure there was anyone on the streets with him.

Which is why it was the perfect place for someone to slam a bag over his head and force him into a vehicle.

Elliot's breathing was ragged as he felt himself moving inside a car. What was happening? Who was doing this to him? What did they want?

The car stopped and Elliot was yanked out. He was dragged through various hallways until whoever was pulling him stopped. The bag was yanked off his head, and he found himself in a dimly lit room with a laptop and a chair the only things in it.

"Hello?!" he yelled out to the empty room.

"Bon soir, Elliot," a familiar voice said as its owner stepped out of the shadows. "How good of you to come."

"Tyrell?"

Tyrell smirked. "I need something from you, my friend. As you may know, I'm a suspect in the murder of Sharon Knowles. Well, that just won't do. I know all about your…special skills. I want you to use those to erase all evidence of my suspected involvement. After that, I want you to plant some information that will get Scott Knowles removed as CTO of Evil Corp. Then you will make sure that I get hired in his place."

"Why would I do that?" Elliot asked.

Tyrell let out a wry chuckle. "Because if you don't…well…"

The door behind Tyrell slammed open and two men entered with Mara in tow. Elliot's eyes widened at the sight of her. Her hands were tied in front of her, and she was gagged. Her hair was a tangled mess. She wasn't wearing any shoes. Various cuts and bruises sprinkled her body. Tears were making tracks through the dirt on her face.

But he noticed that she was wearing what was once a beautiful black pencil dress. One that a woman would wear on a date.

She had been on her way to meet him, but she got kidnapped before she could make it to the restaurant.

Elliot silently berated himself for believing that Mara had ditched him. She had made it clear by her personality and her actions from the day they met that she would never do such a thing, and he shouldn't have believed she would for a second. He should've known when she didn't show that something was wrong.

How could he be such an idiot?

Tyrell walked up to her and stroked her cheek. She moved her head away from him, but it didn't matter. "I'm afraid my favorite cousin whom you've grown so attached to will meet quite an unfortunate end."

One of the men holding Mara took out a gun and aimed it at her. She looked back at him with terror in her eyes.

Elliot knew that he didn't have a choice. If he wanted Mara to live, he was going to have to do what Tyrell wanted him to do.

He knew Tyrell was a shady guy, but he never knew he was going to go so far as to hurt his own relative. How was someone like him even be related to someone like Mara?

Elliot slowly walked over to the laptop. Keeping his eyes on Mara, he opened it up. Then he pulled up the necessary programs he would need to do what Tyrell had requested of him.

Elliot took his time hacking into the servers. It wasn't hard to make it look like he was actually doing something. In reality, he was just biding his time, hoping for a window where he could save Mara and get out before she got killed. He was not going to let the same thing that happened to Shayla happen to her.

It was clear that Tyrell was getting more and more restless with each passing minute. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and grabbed the gun from one of the men holding Mara. He furiously walked over and pointed it at Elliot's head.

"What's taking so long?" he demanded. "I've heard you can hack things in minutes. Why is something as simple as this taking you over an hour?"

"It's not as simple as you think," Elliot said calmly. "Just take a look."

Tyrell leaned down and looked at the computer screen. "What are you doing?"

While he was distracted, Elliot grabbed the gun from Tyrell's hand, narrowly missing a bullet fired from it. He then aimed it at the man holding a gun to Mara's head and shot him before he could fire his own gun. The other man held Mara in front of him to prevent Elliot from shooting him as well.

Tyrell stood up and looked at the man angrily. "Kill him."

Keeping Mara in front of him, the man moved over to the dead one and retrieved his gun. Elliot aimed his gun at Tyrell.

"You won't be able to get paid if he's dead," Elliot said.

The man lowered his gun a little. He threw Mara to the ground, and thus ensued a massive gunfight in the small room. Elliot and the other man began firing at each other, each dodging the other's bullets. Tyrell escaped from the room before he could get shot, knowing that one of the men inside was going to end up dead once the gunfight was over.

And he was right. Elliot got a very lucky shot in and the man fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming beneath him.

He then ran over to Mara before untying her hands and removing the gag from her mouth. Her face was contorted into one of pain and when he turned her over, he realized that during the gunfight, she had been hit by one of the bullets. A large hole sat on her side that was pouring blood.

Elliot quickly hefted her up into his arms, silently vowing to do whatever it took to throw Tyrell in prison once this was all over.

Mara cried out in pain as he lifted her up and began running out of the place. Once he managed to find his way outside, he realized that they were really close to fsociety headquarters. Knowing he couldn't take Mara to a hospital, he quickly began making his way there.

"Hey!" he called as he burst into the arcade. "I need your help!"

"Elliot?" Darlene exclaimed, bolting up from her seat. "Why the heck did you bring _her_ here?!"

"She's been shot. If I take her to the hospital, they're going to call the police because it's standard procedure for a gunshot victim. Once they start questioning her, she may unintentionally lead them back to us and everything will be ruined. So you've gotta help her!"

"He's right. Clear the table," Mobley demanded.

All of the members of fsociety cleared off one of the tables before Elliot gently placed Mara down on it.

"Anyone know what to do now?" Darlene asked.

"Grab the First Aid kit over on the wall," Romero told her. "I've got pretty steady hands. I should be able to fix this well enough."

Darlene quickly ran and got the First Aid kit and set it next to Romero. He began pulling out all of the necessary tools he was going to need.

"Darlene, start rubbing all of those with the alcohol wipes," Romero instructed.

As Darlene did that, Romero slipped on a pair of gloves and took the scissors out of the box. He carefully cut a small portion of Mara's dress so that he could better access the wound.

Romero put his hand on Mara's. "Ma'am, I sincerely apologize for this."

Before Mara could question what he was apologizing for, Romero took the bottle of alcohol and poured it on the wound. Mara immediately began screaming and thrashing around on the table, unable to take the pain.

"Hold her down."

Mobley held down her feet, Trenton held down her left arm, and Darlene held down her shoulders. Elliot quickly gripped Mara's right hand.

Romero took the forceps from the box and inserted it into the wound to get the bullet out which caused Mara to scream even louder.

"You got this, you got this, you got this, you got this," Elliot said quietly over and over to Mara.

Mara looked at him for a short second with wild fear in her eyes. Then she resumed screaming as Romero dug the forceps deeper and deeper inside her.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and passed out from the pain.

"Hold on, I think I've found it," Romero stated. "I got it!"

He slowly withdrew the forceps and Elliot looked at the small bullet that he pulled out with it. Romero then went about stitching the wound closed and bandaging it up.

Elliot pressed his hand to Mara's neck and found to his relief that there was still a strong pulse.

"Thank you," he said quietly to Romero.

Romero gave him a small nod in reply.

Hours passed as Elliot anxiously awaited for Mara to wake up. He constantly checked her pulse, and each time, it was still strong.

"Elliot?"

Elliot quickly ran to her side at the sound of her voice. "Hey."

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe. Where we could get the bullet out."

Tears began to form in Mara's eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Elliot could not believe what he was hearing. She was apologizing after she got kidnapped and he let her get shot in the process?

"For what?"

She gently pressed her hand to the side of his face. Unlike before, he welcomed her touch and wished for her never to pull away. "I know how hard it was for you to go out to that restaurant. And after all that, you just sat there alone waiting for me to show up. I just wanted to give you one normal night out."

"It's okay, Mara. You shouldn't be apologizing. I'm sorry for not realizing sooner that something was wrong. And I'm sorry you got hurt."

Mara's thumb rubbed his cheek as she mustered a small smile. She suddenly winced in pain and put her hand to her side.

"I'll take you home," Elliot told her. "But I need you to close your eyes."

"Why?"

"I can't let you see where we are. It might put you in danger."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just close your eyes."

Too weak and tired to protest, Mara obeyed him and shut her eyes. She felt Elliot lift her up into his arms which sent a wave of pain through her.

Elliot carried Mara out of fsociety headquarters and down the main road where he could hail a taxi.

Once a driver stopped for them, he looked at the pair questioningly. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," Elliot answered. "We just need to get home."

He gave the driver Mara's address. The driver just raised his eyebrows a little and drove to the place his customer had requested. What else was he supposed to do? The girl in the seat looked rather disheveled, but it didn't look like she had done anything illegal.

"You can open your eyes now," Elliot whispered to Mara.

Once they arrived at the complex, Elliot lifted Mara up again and carried her to her apartment. Using the spare key hidden in the plant in the corner of the hallway, he got her inside and placed her down on her bed.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

He was about to leave when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Stay," Mara said hoarsely. "Please."

Elliot sighed and took a seat on Mara's bed. Then after a few tense seconds where he questioned if he should or not, he lay down next to her and wrapped his arms protectively around her. He could feel her body shaking with silent sobs. He gently began rubbing his fingers through her tangled hair, an act that sent a small shiver down his spine.

Elliot still questioned what Mara had done to him. He never did something like this with anyone. The only time he did it with Shayla was when he had been ridiculously high. But now, he was completely level-headed and he was still willingly touching her.

Soon, Mara finally succumbed to sleep. Elliot knew he couldn't leave her alone when she was like this. He slowly got up so as not to wake her and went out to the living room where he crashed on the couch, exhausted from everything that had happened in the last twelve hours.

As he stared up at the white ceiling, his thoughts drifted over to what was happening to him.

Elliot hardly ever saw him anymore. Ever since Mara entered his life, he came around less and less often. Maybe that was why he felt so comfortable around her.

In fact…it might just be possible that…Elliot loved her.


	6. Chapter 6

When Mara awoke, she slowly and painfully got up and went out to the living room. A small smile crossed her face when she saw Elliot sleeping on her couch.

Something inside Mara was stirring in a way she didn't fully understand and it had been that way for a while. She knew that she cared about Elliot as more than just a friend. She had for several weeks now.

But she couldn't just come out and say that to him. This was the guy who barely said four words to her. He had secrets she didn't know he would ever trust her enough to tell her.

Despite that, she knew that a part of him cared for her too.

Elliot turned over on the couch and she saw his eyes open. She slowly walked over to sit next to him, leaning onto objects for support since her side was still killing her.

"Thank you," she said quietly to him.

"For what?"

"Just…always being there for me."

"You're always there for me. In those moments when most people leave. Like the withdrawal. Or the bridge. I want to do the same for you that you've done for me. And I want to make up for what I did to you."

"What do you mean? What did you do to me?"

Elliot avoided her eyes. She had never seen him so nervous which was saying something since he suffered from anxiety. "I hacked you."

"You hacked me?"

"That's what I do. I'm a computer engineer and in my spare time, I hack people. I do whatever I can to find out people's secrets, the things they like to keep hidden away from the rest of the world. I'm good at covering my tracks. No one ever knows what I do."

"What did you find out about me?"

"That's the thing. I didn't know that Tyrell was your cousin. You shared so much with me on that first night, I didn't find out everything I could've about you. But…I've liked finding out things I didn't know about you as time goes on. Things I couldn't have found out just by hacking you."

Mara was taken aback at how much he was saying to her at once. And it was about how he felt about her no less.

"Like what?"

"How family means more than anything to you except when it comes to Tyrell, how far you're willing to go to help other people even when it inconveniences you, how much of a neat freak you are, how cute you are when you're excited, how your eyes light up whenever you smile…"

Mara was touched. She had always known that Elliot was a silent observer, but she didn't know that he was always observing her. She couldn't believe he was saying all of this to her. After so very, very long, he was finally opening up to her.

"And you…make him go away."

Mara already knew who he was talking about, but she wanted him to tell her. She wanted him to trust her. "Him?"

"I see my dead father sometimes. Or I guess…I become him. He becomes me."

Elliot refused to look at her. She knew he was afraid of how she was going to react.

"I know."

Elliot's wide eyes looked up at her. "You know?"

Mara nodded. "Your sister came to see me and told me to stay away from you because of what was going on with you. I've known about this for months."

"And you still stayed?"

The young woman took in a deep breath. "Um…I told you that my mom died in childbirth with Kellan. I was only 7 years old at the time. I know that's probably hard to believe because Kellan look so much older than me, but it's true. And uh…after she died, I started seeing her everywhere. In order to cope, I imagined her with me all the time, and I would talk to her as if she was there with me. Pretty soon, the line disappeared to the point where I didn't even believe my mother was dead. It took months of therapy and medications for me to accept the truth that she had died. I couldn't be alone during that time. And I wasn't about to let that happen to you."

Elliot remembered seeing that she had spent some time in therapy as a child, but he hadn't been able to find out what exactly it had been for. Her certainly had not seen that one coming.

"Whenever I'm with you…" he started, "I don't see him. I don't lose myself. I don't even remember the last time I saw him."

Mara smiled a little. That explained why he never seemed any different to her even after what Darlene told her. He never saw his father when she was around him.

Mara slid closer to him on the couch. She slowly put her hand to the side of his face, wondering if he would move away from her touch. Instead, he leaned into her hand, savoring the feel of it on his skin.

Then before either of them could back out, Mara went for it and kissed him. She hadn't realized how much she had wanted to feel his lips on hers until it happened. Now she never wanted it to stop.

It took a couple seconds, but Elliot soon returned the kiss much to her pleasure. His hands lightly touched her back as her hands continued to caress his face and neck.

 _I've never kissed anyone except Shayla._

 _Mara may not be my first kiss, but it's more meaningful. I chose to tell her the truth about me. I chose to trust her._

 _I chose to let her in._

 _I guess this is good-bye, my friend._

 _After all, I just created you so that I wouldn't be lonely. You're not even real._

 _I don't need you anymore. Now I have her._

Mara cried out in pain as she suddenly ceased the kiss. Elliot frantically pulled away from her.

"It's okay," she said quickly. "I'm just still sore from everything that happened." She looked up at him with complete sincerity. "I'm really glad you trust me enough to tell me all this." She took his hand and leaned against his shoulder. "So what are we going to do about Tyrell?"

"He's a suspect in the murder of Sharon Knowles, right? That's why he kidnapped you. He wanted me to erase the evidence."

"Yeah," Mara said, realizing what he was getting at. "And if he went to all that trouble to get the evidence erased, then that must mean he's guilty."

"So, I may just have to speed up the process a little."

"Whatever you do, just make sure he goes to prison for a long time."

* * *

Mara slowly went to the door as a knock sounded through the apartment. When she opened it, she was surprised to find Darlene.

"Hi, Darlene," she said to the girl.

"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here."

"Yeah, I am. Uh, come in. Can I get you anything?"

"A soda would be fine."

"Sure thing." Mara grabbed her a Dr. Pepper before sitting across from her at the island in the kitchen. "So why are you here?"

"I know I told you to stay away from Elliot."

"Look, I don't know what he's told you, but—"

"Let me finish. Elliot is a different person since he met you. I'm thankful, but another part of me hates it."

"How come?"

"I know he didn't tell you about the hack."

"You mean when he hacked me?"

"No. I mean _the_ hack. Me, Elliot, and some other people all decided that we were going to hack E Corp and basically destroy the financial market and erase all trace of debt in the U.S. We've all worked really hard for the past few months to carry out this plan. But the other day, Elliot comes to our headquarters and insists that the plan is off. Naturally, all of us were wondering why. Why after months of work he was going to call it off just like that. He said it was because of you."

"Because of me?"

"He told me all about you and how he never saw our dad when he was with you. He explained to me that it wasn't him who started this whole plan, but it was the persona of our father. Now that he had you, he didn't want to go through with it because he knew how you would react."

This was all a bit much for Mara to take in. All this time, Elliot had been planning on hacking the biggest company in the world? And for what? Money?

She was stunned that he would pull the plug on something that must've meant a lot to him in order to please her. He cared about her more than she thought.

"I'm not happy that all that work we did over the last year was for nothing," Darlene continued, "…but at the same time, I've never seen my brother so happy before. He's always so reserved and afraid, but ever since he started spending time with you…I've seen another side of him. I'm glad you didn't listen to me before."

"I care about him a lot. I don't know what it is, but there's something about him that just makes me feel…safe."

"Why did you even stay with him after what I told you?"

"I don't know. I guess I just didn't see a difference in him. He was still the same Elliot I'd spent all my time with. And after seeing him having a breakdown alone in his apartment, my heart went out to him and I knew I couldn't just leave him alone like that. I wanted to be there for him."

"You're not like other people, Mara. As much as it shocks me, I'm glad that he found you. He's finally…normal again."

* * *

"Come on in," a young woman said with a small smile as she opened the door to her office.

Mara took note of the surprised smile on her face.

The woman shook Mara's hand. "You must be the Mara I've heard so much about. I'm Krista Gordon."

"It's nice to meet you," Mara smiled, shaking her hand with the one that wasn't holding Elliot's.

"Please, take a seat."

Mara and Elliot sat down on the couch across from Krista's seat. The psychiatrist took out her notepad.

"How long have you been together?" she asked Mara.

"Um, I guess we met several months ago, but we just became official last week."

"Elliot, why did you decide to be with her?"

"She makes him go away. I feel comfortable around her. She accepts every part of me."

"Do you accept every part of her?"

"Yes. I do."

"Why do you think you don't see him when you're with her?"

Elliot paused for a moment. "Because she makes me feel complete. Before, I needed him to feel complete. Now I have her."

Mara smiled a little as she intertwined their fingers together.

"Mara, do you think I could talk with Elliot alone for a little while?" Krista asked her.

"Of course. I have to be getting to work anyway." She gave Elliot a small kiss. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Mara left Krista's office and headed to the hospital, unable to stop smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

"We need a nurse in Room 114. They just brought up someone with multiple lacerations and a possible concussion. He still hasn't regained consciousness."

"What's the patient's name?"

The nurse looked at her clipboard. "Um…Elliot Alderson."

Mara's head snapped in the nurse's direction. "I'm sorry, did you just say Elliot Alderson?"

"Why, you know him?"

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend."

Mara quickly ran to Room 114. There were a couple doctors she was familiar with doing some tests on him.

"Mara?" one of the doctors said. "Are you the nurse on call?"

"Uh, no, Elliot's my boyfriend. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Someone found him like this and brought him in. Looks like he's been beat half to death."

"Does anyone know who did it?"

"No, we don't even know who brought him in."

Mara sighed and nervously pressed her hand to her head.

"Hey, Mara," her co-worker said as she entered the room. "What are you doing in here?"

"Hey, Laurie. Uh, can you just keep me updated on him and let me know if anything changes?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks."

Mara left the room and continued working on her other patients and getting her paperwork done. She didn't allow her work to be affected, but she was extremely nervous about Elliot's condition. Who would want to beat him within an inch of his life?

She already knew the answer to that question.

As soon as her shift was over late that night, Mara went to Elliot's room and sat next to his bed. The hours ticked by as she waited for something to happen.

"Mara?"

Mara's head snapped over to Elliot at the sound of his scratchy voice. "Hey," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like…I've been hit…by a truck," he said breathlessly.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

Mara gently placed her hand on his. "Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"How long…have you been here?"

"A few hours. There was no way I was going to leave until you woke up. I'll go let the nurse know you're awake."

Mara stood up from the chair and headed towards the door. Before she could make it out, a man stepped inside.

"Are you his nurse?" he asked as he shut the door.

Mara did not like the look of this guy. He had droplets of sweat on his forehead and his neck like he was nervous. There was a very, very cold look in his eyes.

"Um, no," she answered. "I finished my shift a while ago. I'm just here waiting with him."

"Could you get me a soda or something? I'll wait with him while you get that."

Mara crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, who did you say you were?"

The man produced a switchblade and went straight for Mara's chest. Mara quickly avoided the weapon and all the attempts following.

"Who are you?" she growled. "Did Tyrell send you?"

The man didn't answer her. He stared her down, daring her to make a move.

"I swear, I'm going to kill my stupid cousin…"

"You're Tyrell's cousin?"

"Oh, so he did send you. Well you're stupid for fighting me here. This is my domain."

When he came after her again, Mara grabbed a pair of medical scissors and deflected the switchblade from hitting her. She delivered a few successful hits and kicks to his chest and legs. The switchblade sliced her skin a couple times, but she refused to let it distract her.

Elliot wanted do direly to do something for her, but he couldn't get his body to move. He was in absolute agony from Tyrell's latest hit, and he could barely even see much less think straight.

He could make out Mara battling fiercely with this guy, and it was clear that the intruder was not prepared for such a difficult disturbance.

Mara grabbed a syringe full of morphine that had been left for Elliot. She jammed the needle into the man's flesh and inserted all of the liquid. The concentration wasn't enough to kill him, but it was enough to make him fall to the floor and become unresponsive.

"Elliot…" Mara gasped. She turned around and he saw blood on her stomach that was beginning to seep through her scrubs. "P…Press the nurse's button."

He watched in horror as she collapsed onto the floor. Forcing his muscles to work, Elliot reached up and pressed the red button on his bed.

"Nurse's station, how may I help you?" someone said as the call was answered.

"We need…help…" he rasped.

The call quickly ended, and Elliot could hear various urgent voices outside his room.

"Mara…" Elliot said. "Hang on."

Mara's vision began to go fuzzy. She realized that the switchblade the man had been using had a fast-acting poison on it, and she had been stabbed in the gut with it not to mention there were various scratches all over her body.

She could hear voices echoing around her before someone turned her body around so she was looking up at blurred faces.

"Mara!" someone cried. "Come on, Mara, stay with me!"

"Elliot…" she mustered out.

"Elliot's fine. Just stay with me now!"

Her vision began to go white as if someone was shining bright lights in her face. Then she lost consciousness.

* * *

When Mara awoke, she was lying in a familiar hospital bed. Her pulse was being monitored as were her vital functions.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" Laurie said as she stepped into the room. "You gave us all quite a scare."

"How long was I out?"

"Since yesterday."

Mara's eyes widened. "Oh, no, Elliot!"

"Relax, Mara, Elliot's perfectly fine. We have people watching his room at all times ever since what happened. As for you, you've been detoxed from the poison, and everything should be just fine. We're asking you to stay alert and don't take any unusual occurrences lightly. But you already knew that. The stab wound wasn't very deep at all, so give it a few days and it should heal completely."

Mara leaned back on the bed. She was going to murder Tyrell.

"Hey, Mara?"

Mara sat up to look at her coworker.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you dating Elliot?"

A light smile crossed Mara's face. "We bring out the best in each other. I take care of him, and he takes care of me. I gave him what he wanted most: someone he can trust."

"I guess he just didn't seem like the kind of person you would date."

"There's more to him than what's on the surface. A lot more."

"Well, let me just unhook you from these machines, get your discharge papers, and then you'll be free to go."

Laurie got Mara freed from all of the monitors before leaving the room to retrieve the necessary documents.

Mara didn't know exactly how Elliot did what he did, but she knew that he needed to get Tyrell behind bars as soon as possible. If not, he would just keep coming after the both of them until he got what he wanted. And what he wanted was to escape the consequences of his actions as usual.

Of course…maybe this time, she was the one who could do something…

As soon as Mara was properly discharged, she went down to Elliot's room. The policemen posted by the door allowed her entrance, knowing that she had no ill intentions since she had almost died saving him.

"Hey," she said softly. "Feeling better?"

"A little," he answered hoarsely. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Why are you still here after everything you've been through? You never had to face any of this until you started spending time with me."

Mara went to the side of his bed and gently took her hand in his. "When you love someone, you're willing to put up with anything as long as you can be together."

It took a moment for Elliot's foggy brain to register what Mara had said. "Did you just say…?"

"Yes. I love you, Elliot."

"I…I love you too."

Mara smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned down to gently kiss him. Her hand caressed the side of his face, and she was careful not to irritate his cuts.

"I'll stop by later. Right now, I have some business to take care of."

* * *

"Hello, my dear cousin."

Mara marched up to Tyrell and punched him square in the face. "You're an idiot!"

"What was that for?"

"You know very well what that was for! For nearly getting me and Elliot killed!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, cut the crap! You have made my life miserable since the day you met Joanna. Well, I am sick and tired of putting up with it!"

"Joanna has nothing to do with this."

"She has everything to do with this! Ever since her whole 'do-whatever-it-takes-even-if-it-means-cheating-on-me-and-murdering-someone' policy, you haven't hesitated to do anything if it means making her happy."

"Good husbands do whatever they can to make their wives happy."

"Good husbands follow the law, you jerk. And you've broken it more times than you'd care to admit!"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to apologize for everything you've done."

"Like what?"

"Like sending an assassin after Elliot. Kidnapping the both of us to get you bumped up to CTO of E Corp." She glared at him fiercely. "Killing Sharon Knowles."

Tyrell smirked. "What makes you think I killed her?"

"Why else would you kidnap Elliot to make him erase the evidence?"

His smirk disappeared as his eyes hardened. "I couldn't become CTO if I was a suspect in a murder case."

"That or you actually did kill her. A couple eyewitnesses say that they saw you go up on the roof with Mrs. Knowles and come back down looking rather panicked."

"Someone attacked us."

"Funny because I don't recall proof anyone else was ever up there."

"What do you want from me, Mara?"

"I already told you. I want an apology."

Tyrell's eyes hardened even more. "Fine. You want an apology? I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got stuck with you for a cousin. I'm sorry you have to follow the law to a letter. I'm sorry you have to be such a pushover that you won't do what it takes to win. I'm sorry that even kidnapping you and that twisted boyfriend of yours didn't get the message through to you that I can do whatever I want and you can't do a thing about it. Yeah…I killed Sharon Knowles. And you know what? I loved it. I loved seeing the light leave her eyes. I loved seeing that moment where she realized she was going to die on the roof cheating on her husband." He started coming closer to her. "And I wouldn't mind reliving that moment."

His hands shot up to her neck and began to squeeze tightly. Before either of them could do anything more, sirens pierced the air and policemen swarmed the area.

"Sir! Step away from the woman!" one of them ordered, aiming his gun at Tyrell.

"What is this?!" Tyrell demanded, his wide eyes looking at Mara.

Mara coughed a little as he released her. She reached into her back pocket to show him that she had been on the phone with the cops for their entire conversation.

"You tricked me," he growled.

"Not so much fun being on the receiving end, is it? Be careful in prison. Someone of your stature probably won't do so well. But maybe you can prove me wrong. I'll send your regards to Joanna."

The police arrested Tyrell, and Mara just smirked at him as he was led away in a police car. That was a sight she had been longing to see for years.

* * *

The next day, Elliot was discharged from the hospital, so Mara offered to take him back to her apartment.

Once inside, she began making him some tea.

"The police arrested Tyrell," she told him as she came and sat next to him on the couch.

"It's all over the news."

"When someone as high up as him gets arrested, word gets around. Hopefully, now, Mr. Knowles can get a little bit of closure."

"How did you get him to confess?"

"Well, Tyrell already hates me. So I just pushed his buttons until he couldn't take it anymore."

"And we didn't even have to hack him."

"No, we didn't."

"Mara…are you sure you're ready to stay with me? I don't think Tyrell will be the only person we have to deal with."

"Elliot, I told you, I love you and that means that I'm ready to put up with anything."

"What about Kellan?"

"I've talked with Kellan already. He's bit wary about his sister dating, but I know he's just trying to fill in for our father. He's seen how happy you make me. That was all the convincing he needed."

Mara set her mug down on the coffee table in front of the couch. Then she leaned close to Elliot and kissed him. He passionately returned her kiss with more fervor than she expected, but the kiss was still a gentle and sweet one.

When they parted, she leaned her forehead against his.

"Everything is going to be okay."


End file.
